New York's attorney general disagrees with the north country's congressman on a federal measure that would make New York recognize gun permits from states with weaker gun-control laws. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wrote a letter to Senate leaders urging them to reject the proposal, according to the Associated Press, via Channel 7. The Huffington Post has posted the full letter that Mr. Schneiderman wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. New York requires a criminal background check and a mental health evaluation, something that not all states do. Mr. Schneiderman argues that the law would "have a devastating effect on the ability of law enforcement in New York to combat the scourge of gun violence" by forcing it to "abandon its own gun laws by allowing out-of-state visitors to carry concealed firearms based on their home state's less safe laws, rather than those of the state they are entering." But north country Rep. BIll Owens, D-Plattsburgh, disagrees. He has signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill, which is still under consideration in the House of Representatives. The National Rifle Association endorsed Mr. Owens in 2010, giving him an "A." The group, like Mr. Owens, supports this bill.Mr. Owens' spokesman, Sean Magers, said: "As a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, Congressman Owens believes this legislation helps to preserve New Yorkers' right to bear arms. He respectfully disagrees with the Attorney General on this issue."Mr. Owens' likely Republican opponent in November 2012, Matt Doheny, also likes the proposed law."I support this bill because it would protect a person’s fundamental right to defend themselves and because it preserves the 2nd Amendment rights our founding fathers gave to us," Mr. Doheny said in an emailed statement. "In addition, I will never support a House speaker who is an outspoken crusader for the anti-gun lobby, as my opponent did.”

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